When Abraham got to Egypt did he ask his wife to pretend to be Lot's wife?

Answer 1

A:No, this is not true. He did ask her to tell the pharaoh that she was his own sister. It is not immediately clear from the context whether she was really his sister, or whether this was a rather unnecessary ruse. However, the story of the patriarchs, as a whole, shows that Sarah must have been both Abraham's wife and his sister, and therefore the daughter of Terah. Isaac's wife, Rebekah, was the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother. The third patriarch, Jacob, married Leah and Rachel, daughters of Laban, Rebekah's brother. The consequence of this is that the patriarchal family line is a self-contained unit, originating solely in Terah, with no pathways to or from the outer world. The children of Israel were all descended solely from Terah, through both male and female lines all the way back to Abraham and Sarah. Sarah was therefore Abraham's sister, just as he told the kings. There is a theological reason for this self-contained genealogy, but it is beyond the scope of this question.

Answer 2

No, Abraham did not ask his wife Sarah to pretend to be Lot's wife in Egypt. In Genesis 12:10-20, Abraham asked Sarah to pretend to be his sister because he feared that the Egyptians would kill him to take her. However, the narrative does not mention any request to pretend to be Lot's wife.